The Incident Became Fateful for Davit Tonoyan: 'Hraparak'

“The decision to dismiss Davit Tonoyan was contemplated during the middle of the war, but for entirely different reasons. We have been told that when the Armenian side announced that it had struck the Azerbaijani Ganja airport, but it later became clear that a residential area had been targeted, an uproar ensued. The Russian military leadership was outraged because, firstly, this was not coordinated with them, and secondly, targeting civilians has been viewed as an act of aggression on international platforms, leading Russian authorities to halt arms supplies.

The cessation of arms supplies from our strategic partner during the hottest phase of the war was a severe blow, and it was only due to Davit Tonoyan's personal efforts that these relations were restored. Tonoyan had a phone conversation with his counterpart Shoigu, and the supply of weapons and munitions was resumed.

However, this incident became fateful for Davit Tonoyan, as during that period Russian media published reports suggesting that if Prime Minister Pashinyan fulfilled the demands of the Russian authorities to resign and transfer power to Tonoyan, the war would cease. After these publications, Nikol Pashinyan began to view Davit Tonoyan as a serious rival and instructed his team to target him. This is also why the Defense Minister remained in the shadows during the war,” the newspaper writes.